Scarlett Johanson looks positively seductive in Lost In Translation
It’s been some time since I last blogged.
I have left my previous job and I am currently unemployed, which is good and bad. Good in a sense that it has freed up some time for me to do some of my wedding stuff, and also to do more running! Plus Jamie passed me a book to read which has a lot to do with the project-in-progress. With my free time I can finish reading that book.
I’ve attended a few interviews since and one company has reverted to me with an offer which I can best describe as derisory. The search continues.
Anyway I’ve been doing a minor spring cleaning of my room- and I’ve just realised how much one can accumulate over the years. Take my running magazines, for example. Although I’ve started running not too long ago, I have stacks of running mags and books, alongside the old issues of other mags I’ve accumulated from my teenage years- Tennis mags, Men’s Health, FHM, GQ, Rolling Stone, Mojo, etc. I must be more discerning when buying mags, which actually is something I’ve been consciously doing anyway. Before buying a mag, I quickly read through most of the articles and decide if it is worth buying.
In line with that I bought this month’s Runner’s World. Why? The model on the cover was absolutely babelicious. Great legs, great looks, great body, great strides. Her name is Frances Santin. There was also a write-up on America’s latest distance prodigy, Galen Rupp. Rupp has enrolled with the University of Oregon and has insisted on Alberto Salazar remaining as his coach eventhough Pat Tyson (former team mate and roommate of Steve Prefontaine) is the current coach there. Inevitably, comparisons will be made with Pre but the jury is out. Rupp is logging in some serious mileage under Salazar, who is a hard taskmaster. Those of you who don’t know who Alberto Salazar is, I suggest you Google him. Anyway time will tell if Rupp will make it.
I’ve been running every day, but I will just write about my running in the last 2 days.
Tuesday- I logged in 18k in the morning before heading to track. I was there early and decided to do something I rarely do- to run barefoot. I ran 8 laps around the track, totalling 3.2 k, and it was a very enjoyable experience. The enjoyable thing about running barefoot is the natural, “return-to-nature-and-to-our-roots” feel about it. With the advent of shoe technology and probably the increasing affluence of mankind, we have become pampered and spoilt. A lot of the times we are shielded and protected from the terrain (be it asphalt, concrete, earth, etc) which we walk/run on. Having said that, I’m sure that in the poorer, less developed countries, many runners, young and old, are either still running barefoot or with a basic pair of cheap shoes.
My experience with running barefoot has taught me some lessons-
1) Your feet will automatically adjust to landing on the mid-foot/forefoot. If you’re a heel-toe striker, I challenge you to continue running that way barefoot. It could be very painful.
Thing is, I’m already a forefoot striker, so it didn’t really make much of a difference to me, in terms of having to change my biomechanics.
I’ve reasoned that one would land more on the mid-foot/ forefoot because that mechanism will allow you to better absorb your body weight, and the resulting impact shock to your knees. You would, consciously or not, land “softer”. Your feet would adjust accordingly and even act as a natural cushioning device for your knees.
The Pose method of running does talk about landing on your forefoot. It was agreed by no less than Tim Noakes M.D. (author of Lore of Running) that this method can significantly reduce shock to the knees.
2) I suspected that my skin was peeling off during my barefoot run because I began experiencing some blister-like effects on my feet- more specifically, my large toe, and the forefoot area, around the 2k mark. I would have wanted to run more but for the skin peel. Anyway I put my shoes back on, and continued running. I wore the Zoom Milers, and it almost felt like there was far too much cushioning! I felt like I was bouncing off the shoes. It made me realise how much we rely on shoes to help us with our running and that we land so much harder when we wear our shoes.
It made me realise then that perhaps it is due to the fact that we land much harder when we wear our shoes, that injuries (mostly impact related) occur. It seems logical- we are subjecting our legs to a much greater weight and impact than we can withstand or sustain.
3) Waking up the next morning after my track workout, I experienced aches which I have never experienced before- on my inner calf muscles. This goes to show that barefoot running will work previously unused legs muscles, and strengthen them and ultimately improve our running- if not our times, perhaps our biomechanics.
My conclusion? I know I’m sounding like an ad for Nike Free, but I strongly believe that barefoot running can be used as part of our training to naturally increase our strength, and improve our biomechanics. I’m not suggesting that we go completely bare and ditch our running shoes altogether. I am saying that you can incorporate it as part of your training. So we have issues of pronation and supination of our feet. I think moderation here is the key. Start slow- maybe run 1 easy kilometre and gradually increase the distance in the subsequent weeks or months once you become used to it. At this pount I can’t really suggest any workouts, because I haven’t really looked into barefoot running. I am merely basing this on my on personal experience. More information can be obtained on websites about barefoot running, (I think Jamie has a link or two in his site) and probably the Nike site.
Wednesday- ran an 8 lapper at KLCC with Jamie. That fella is running very well, and he is really pushing the pace hard. But for the 1st 2 laps, every lap was a sub 7:00 pace.
My calves still hurt.
Thursday track today.
I have left my previous job and I am currently unemployed, which is good and bad. Good in a sense that it has freed up some time for me to do some of my wedding stuff, and also to do more running! Plus Jamie passed me a book to read which has a lot to do with the project-in-progress. With my free time I can finish reading that book.
I’ve attended a few interviews since and one company has reverted to me with an offer which I can best describe as derisory. The search continues.
Anyway I’ve been doing a minor spring cleaning of my room- and I’ve just realised how much one can accumulate over the years. Take my running magazines, for example. Although I’ve started running not too long ago, I have stacks of running mags and books, alongside the old issues of other mags I’ve accumulated from my teenage years- Tennis mags, Men’s Health, FHM, GQ, Rolling Stone, Mojo, etc. I must be more discerning when buying mags, which actually is something I’ve been consciously doing anyway. Before buying a mag, I quickly read through most of the articles and decide if it is worth buying.
In line with that I bought this month’s Runner’s World. Why? The model on the cover was absolutely babelicious. Great legs, great looks, great body, great strides. Her name is Frances Santin. There was also a write-up on America’s latest distance prodigy, Galen Rupp. Rupp has enrolled with the University of Oregon and has insisted on Alberto Salazar remaining as his coach eventhough Pat Tyson (former team mate and roommate of Steve Prefontaine) is the current coach there. Inevitably, comparisons will be made with Pre but the jury is out. Rupp is logging in some serious mileage under Salazar, who is a hard taskmaster. Those of you who don’t know who Alberto Salazar is, I suggest you Google him. Anyway time will tell if Rupp will make it.
I’ve been running every day, but I will just write about my running in the last 2 days.
Tuesday- I logged in 18k in the morning before heading to track. I was there early and decided to do something I rarely do- to run barefoot. I ran 8 laps around the track, totalling 3.2 k, and it was a very enjoyable experience. The enjoyable thing about running barefoot is the natural, “return-to-nature-and-to-our-roots” feel about it. With the advent of shoe technology and probably the increasing affluence of mankind, we have become pampered and spoilt. A lot of the times we are shielded and protected from the terrain (be it asphalt, concrete, earth, etc) which we walk/run on. Having said that, I’m sure that in the poorer, less developed countries, many runners, young and old, are either still running barefoot or with a basic pair of cheap shoes.
My experience with running barefoot has taught me some lessons-
1) Your feet will automatically adjust to landing on the mid-foot/forefoot. If you’re a heel-toe striker, I challenge you to continue running that way barefoot. It could be very painful.
Thing is, I’m already a forefoot striker, so it didn’t really make much of a difference to me, in terms of having to change my biomechanics.
I’ve reasoned that one would land more on the mid-foot/ forefoot because that mechanism will allow you to better absorb your body weight, and the resulting impact shock to your knees. You would, consciously or not, land “softer”. Your feet would adjust accordingly and even act as a natural cushioning device for your knees.
The Pose method of running does talk about landing on your forefoot. It was agreed by no less than Tim Noakes M.D. (author of Lore of Running) that this method can significantly reduce shock to the knees.
2) I suspected that my skin was peeling off during my barefoot run because I began experiencing some blister-like effects on my feet- more specifically, my large toe, and the forefoot area, around the 2k mark. I would have wanted to run more but for the skin peel. Anyway I put my shoes back on, and continued running. I wore the Zoom Milers, and it almost felt like there was far too much cushioning! I felt like I was bouncing off the shoes. It made me realise how much we rely on shoes to help us with our running and that we land so much harder when we wear our shoes.
It made me realise then that perhaps it is due to the fact that we land much harder when we wear our shoes, that injuries (mostly impact related) occur. It seems logical- we are subjecting our legs to a much greater weight and impact than we can withstand or sustain.
3) Waking up the next morning after my track workout, I experienced aches which I have never experienced before- on my inner calf muscles. This goes to show that barefoot running will work previously unused legs muscles, and strengthen them and ultimately improve our running- if not our times, perhaps our biomechanics.
My conclusion? I know I’m sounding like an ad for Nike Free, but I strongly believe that barefoot running can be used as part of our training to naturally increase our strength, and improve our biomechanics. I’m not suggesting that we go completely bare and ditch our running shoes altogether. I am saying that you can incorporate it as part of your training. So we have issues of pronation and supination of our feet. I think moderation here is the key. Start slow- maybe run 1 easy kilometre and gradually increase the distance in the subsequent weeks or months once you become used to it. At this pount I can’t really suggest any workouts, because I haven’t really looked into barefoot running. I am merely basing this on my on personal experience. More information can be obtained on websites about barefoot running, (I think Jamie has a link or two in his site) and probably the Nike site.
Wednesday- ran an 8 lapper at KLCC with Jamie. That fella is running very well, and he is really pushing the pace hard. But for the 1st 2 laps, every lap was a sub 7:00 pace.
My calves still hurt.
Thursday track today.
posted by pm19 at
2:02 pm
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